Hero
by ExtremeRainbowRaiderPrincess
Summary: She doesn't know who she is. She can't remember much about her past. What she does know is that ShinRa is tracking her, and a former SOLDIER needs her help stopping someone. She is a hero. This is what she does. Some Genesis/OC.
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer: I OWN SAPPHIRE! DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT STEALING HER!**_

* * *

I never felt more alone than I did now.

_Sapphire was perched atop a rooftop, her red wings hanging around her shoulders as she looked into the night sky with haunted brown eyes._

No one understood- To them I was just some strange girl with secrets. To them those secrets were something I could move past with time. But in truth- I couldn't.

_She closed her eyes, a lone tear running down her face, her makeup ruined. Opening her eyes again, she laughed._

I was the only person who knew how to save the world… And yet… I wasn't sure how I was going to do it.

_Standing, her long hair loose around her shoulders, she inhaled the night breeze._

I had friends, but… They didn't know what I knew. They… They were the only people who wanted to be friends with me…

_She raised her wings, her eyes on the moon._

…And I didn't want them to know what I knew.

_Leaping into the air, she glided on the cool breeze as she watched the city below._

I was… Am… A hero. And truth be told- I didn't want to be one. But in the history of heroes- Did any of them really want to be heroes?

_She closed her eyes and then opened them again._

I guess… I guess I have to be the hero… For the time being, that is. Just until someone else is willing to take over the job so that I could retire.

_She smiled. Retiring from being a hero at 17- That was a funny idea._

Guess I have to face the facts: I am a hero.

* * *

**_So... If you like it, review. Please._**


	2. Chapter 1: Phantoms

_Disclaimer: I own the OC's- Sapphire, the girl at the beginning, Kris, the bar, Tal-Ketn-Ia, all mine. And the story. After that, I own nothing else._

_A/N: Shout-out to all the amazing people who have stuck with me for all this time! ^_^ Thank you so much to Kissa Lady, Phyllis Joy Wolfe, and x The Dreaming Dove X for the reviews. ^_^ And also to my peeps in the Final Fantasy VII RPG forum. You all are amazing! Thank you for the awesome 2+ years of RP-ing. Let's keep going in the new year! :D Oh, and this story is set some time before Advent Children... Not too far. Rufus is sick in this story._

* * *

_100+ Years Prior..._

There was a thunderous roar as the cave opening collapsed behind me. I coughed as dust and dirt was sent flying my way, my heart pounding.

"I'm going to get out of here and you know it!" I screamed at the falling rocks, though I knew no one could hear me. The roar was so loud I could barely hear me.

Let alone the fact that I suspected the cave-in was caused by my own stupidity.

When the collapse ended, it was pitch black. Like light had been cancelled out.

"I shouldn't have hit that support beam." I muttered, feeling like an idiot. My anger towards the war had gotten the best of me.

Turning away, I stared into the pitch blackness behind me, unsure of what was further into the cave.

The reports I had read mentioned that the cave had once been important to the labs, but... For the last 100 years they hadn't been used.

Something was calling to me from within it's inky depths, though, but I wasn't sure what. It wasn't one of the normal things I was used to hearing, that was for sure.

My heart sunk. I was alone, and all too aware of the problem I was in.

I groaned, running a hand through my short hair. "What have I done?" I whispered.

I had failed my sisters... Just like I always did.

Closing my eyes, I focused on the training I had received just days ago, forcing myself not to panic.

When I opened my eyes, I knew what I facing, and why I was here.

"Hello, Tal-Ketn-Ia. Looks like you won this round."

* * *

_Present Day... In A Building Under Construction..._

_Wutai..._

"Ow!" The 21 year old Sapphire Darkner yelped as she got a splinter lodged in her index finger as she sanded the newly-made shelves in the soon-to-be bar. "Kris," she said as she stared at her finger, "where's the medi-kit? I need a bandage."

Kris Hannar, one of her rare friends, looked up from where he was installing the hardwood floors. With coal-black hair and pale gray eyes, along with a handsome chiseled face that made him look more like a male model than a cook/bodyguard/carpenter, Kris looked just as out of place as the pretty, doe-like Sapphire did in the bare-bones building.

But as he stood, straightening out to his full 6'5" height, and dusted his gloved hands off, Sapphire realized that her super-muscular friend belonged there, just like she did.

He crossed the room, going into the tiny back room that would, one day after they took out several walls, be the kitchen. "We put it back here with our lunches, remember?" He called, causing her to roll her eyes.

"Sure do," she lied, holding her hand out as he reappeared with the kit.

"Let me do it," he said, removing his gloves and stuffing them in his back pocket before opening the kit and putting it on one of the shelves she was working on. He took her hand in his and inspected her finger before grabbing the tweezers from the kit. "You know," he said as he squinted at her finger, trying to figure out the best angle to pull the splinter from, "if you would wear gloves, this wouldn't happen."

Sapphire sighed. "I know that. I just... I don't feel like I should."

Kris looked up at her and quirked his eyebrow, an amused, and confused, smile on his face. "What?"

She sighed. "Never mind. Just get it out."

Kris shook his head, going back to acting as a doctor. "Hold... Got it!" He said as she winced. He wrapped a bandage around her finger, and then put a cheerful flower sticker on the bandage. "There," he said, looking up and meeting her eyes. "All better." He said, his voice quickly fading.

She didn't feel right.

* * *

_She doesn't look right._ Kris thought as he watched her stare at the wall behind him, her hand still held in his. He could fell the tremors running through her fingers. _This is happening way too often now to just be a "non-important thing". _Kris thought, echoing her words from previous conversations in his mind. _Wonder if-_

"Hello!" Kris dropped her hand like it was on fire and looked at the entrance to the bar in shock. It was very, very much obvious the bar was nowhere near open, so who was stupid enough to drop in?

"We're not open yet, man." Kris said, stepping in front of Sapphire only to get pushed out of the way as Sapphire stepped next to him. He winced; he'd, yet again, forgotten that his friend was more than capable of taking care of herself.

"I know that," the man said, entering the room. "I'm just here to speak with the owner of the future bar."

The two friends exchanged nervous glances before Sapphire stepped forward, her pistol Nightmare catching the light in the bar as she adjusted her shoulder holster. "I'm the person you want to speak to, then." She said.

Kris frowned. He could see the slight tremor of her hand, hear her labored breathing. Sapphire was sick.

_Or this has something to do with that phantom past of hers she keeps stubbornly refusing to tell me about. _Kris thought, wrinkling his forehead.

* * *

Rufus raised his eyebrows as he read the article Tseng had brought to him.

"So this millionaire. One... Jonas Teere... Claims to have finally mastered cloning and has moved on to curing his family's mystery disorder?" He asked, summing up the article, as he leaned back in his wheelchair. "What does this have to do with me?" He asked with a curious tone.

Tseng cleared his throat and, after exchanging a nervous look with Rude, spoke. "We think he can help you, Sir. He claims that-"

"-That his family has been plagued by a disorder similar to leprosy for nearly a century, yes, I know Tseng. I read too." He chided Tseng with. "How do you know that he could help me? And what does this woman," he asked, stabbing his finger down on a grainy black and white picture of a young woman, "have to do with this either?"

Tseng sighed. "We don't know that he could help you. But his family has been curing diseases for nearly a century. Don't you think you could give them a shot?"

Rufus hummed in thought. "Your argument carries good points. But, you didn't answer all of my question."

Rude and Reno exchanged looks as Elena coughed. Tseng, meanwhile, stiffened. "What do you mean?"

Rufus looked down at the picture again. "Who is she?"

Tseng sighed. "She's... The carrier, Sir."

Rufus's head snapped up as his eyes met Tseng's. "...What?" He asked, baffled. "Tseng, she would be ancient by now. And you keep beating around the bush here." Rufus said, becoming exasperated with Tseng's evasiveness.

"I don't know what her name is or why Mr. Teere is looking for her, he just is. Maybe she's his long-lost grandmother or something else like that. Point is, if we help him, then he must help us." Tseng said, tired.

Silence ruled the room for several moments as Rufus thought about what Tseng had sighed.

Finally, he answered him.

"No," Rufus said, looking down at her picture again. "I won't do this."

Elena's shoulders slumped as Reno shook his head.

"But... I want to know who she is." Rufus said, looking up at Tseng. "Find out." Were his dismissing words.

* * *

"Hi, can I help you?" Sapphire asked, approaching the man. He was nearly as tall as Kris, with shoulder-length brown hair. His kind eyes held a gentle smile, though Sapphire could sense there was a deeper emotion lurking behind them.

_**Ink... It's what ties us**_** together... **Something hissed to her, causing a shiver to run down her spine. She balled her hands into fists, willing the shaking there to leave.

_What started as just phantom images is turning into something really bad. I've got to see a doctor about this. _She thought.

"I've heard many things about you, Miss Darkner," the man said, taking her hand in his and brushing his lips across her skin.

Sapphire smiled as he met her eyes and let go of her hand. "And they said chivalry is dead." She said with a small chuckle. "I'm afraid I can't say the same for you, Mr. ...?"

He smiled. "Genesis."

She blinked. "All right then."

He laughed. "That's what everyone says." He said, his grin setting off some hollow, aching pain in her chest.

_**Get out get out get out! Run run run!**_ A strange, sinister yet familiar voice barked in her mind.

Sapphire's stomach lurched as she felt her smile grow stiff. _Ugh. Seriously, now this has to happen? Why me?_ She thought.

_**Because, **_to her alarm, the voice- if it could be called that- answered, _**we both know who that is.**_

"I've heard that you are a marvelous scientist with the mind of an engineer," he said as he put his arms behind his back, slowly walking away from her. "Is that true?"

**_Yes._**

"No, sorry," Sapphire said with a smile and a head shake. "I can barely fix myself a cup of coffee, let alone build anything." That part was very much true. Kris and she always joked that her cooking skills were really more of an ability to fix poisons.

Kris joined her in the center of the floor. "Are you sure you're in the right place?" She asked Genesis, various other questions popping up in the back of her mind, all carrying a different feeling to them. The only one that felt like her own, original thought was, "Why are you really here?"

That, and, oddly enough, "Meow".

Genesis stopped at the top of the basement stairs, turning so that they could see half of his face. He smirked. "I guess not. Please, forgive me for intruding." He said with a bow before leaving the bar, not once looking back.

**_And here we go again. Someone now knows, so we have to run, to hide. To keep our secrets in the dark._**

Sapphire set her jaw and shook her head. _The lack of sleep I'm getting lately must be the cause of this..._ Though she knew there was something else behind this.

Kris put his hand on Sapphire's shoulder, breaking her out of her dark thoughts. "That was... Freaky." He said, quickly clearing his throat. "Want me to call someone so that we have some more security around here?"

She shook her head. "No, no, not yet. I want to know who that was."

Kris sighed. "If you're sure..." He waited, knowing her thoughts almost as well as she did.

_**Almost. **_The other voice laughed, a dark, rich sound.

"Um, can I make a couple of calls? I've got some old acquaintances who might be able to help us out. Just in the short run, but I think... I'd like to have them here. Just in case he comes back." She said, rubbing her arms to ward off the chill that was slowly consuming her body.

Kris nodded. "Okay."

"Thanks, Kris." Sapphire said, turning around and walking away from him.

Somewhere deep inside her heart, she knew that this was it. That life-changing moment she had been waiting for, for as long as she could remember.

* * *

_*Dances* The story of the bar, the girls, and just about anything else I've never explained in the forum is about to be revealed- And more! ^_^ P.S.: My RP is always welcoming new members. So, drop by if you're curious. :)_

_And just so you know: No, Kris and Sapphire do not use materia. Ever. Plus, for those of you who notice: Yes, some names have been changed._


	3. Chapter 2: Headaches

_Disclaimer: I own the OC's (Sapphire, Kris, Jonas, Raoul, etc.) and nothing else. Oh! And I own the story. ^_^ Mine, all mine._

_Author's note: Wow. ^_^ I'm happy to see that my story is having a warm welcome. Thank you for the reviews and alerts, everyone. ^_^ Oh! And in this chapter we have three more introductions (kinda, for one) of characters that are key to the story… ;)_

_And by the way… This story is dedicated to the people of the forum who have been an amazing group of e-friends these last 2+ years. Yes, I said it. "Friends". But that's what you guys are. Gotta catch 'em all, right? XD_

_=D_

* * *

_The Past…_

It took me a while to regain my night vision. When you're a lab-grown being who's told what to do, who to act like, and where to go, you tend to forget just what you can do, who you are, and what you want to do.

I stumbled as I ran into a stalagmite, a groan escaping my lips as the rock broke under the force of my legs.

Cursing my genes, and wondering if this meant I could never have fine China in my house, I picked up the stalagmite and weighed in the palms of my hand, mentally noting that I had torn my standard-issue cargo pants. I had learn how to stitch them up a long time ago after I was told to stop tossing them after I had torn them.

"Guess this is as close to a weapon as I'm getting." I said, sliding it through the stretchy holster on my back that once held my dual swords.

Finally, after my night vision had fully returned and the world was shades of red to me, I started running through the cave, heading down the first tunnel I heard noise coming from.

I gradually picked up speed as I ran, vaulting over rocks and rolling under low-hanging rock faces, before I reached the source of the noise.

Peering over the edge of the chasm I stood on the lip of, I looked down at the river of lava that ran far below.

"What the blizzard did I get myself into?" I asked myself.

Backing up, I decided to take no chances.

Turning back, I realized that I had made a huge, and critical, error: I had assumed the cave was empty.

It wasn't.

* * *

_The Present…_

Sapphire sighed as she sent out her last email to her "acquaintances". "Done… Please?" She asked her computer as it contemplated canceling the email and trying something stupid.

"Hey," Kris stuck his head in the doorway of the backroom of the future bar, dragging Sapphire's attention away. "You contacted them?"

Sapphire looked at the screen and sighed. "Yep," she said as she pulled the screen down and closed up the laptop, shoving it back in its carrying case. "God knows when they'll get back to me, since none of them are even on a continent right now." She said with a sigh.

Kris grinned as he stepped into the room. "Then may I present to you, our new security guard," Kris said as a dark figure floated into the room.

Sapphire's eyes grew wide as she held her breath. If she were in a movie, dramatic music would be playing.

Then her shocked expression cracked and she snickered, ruining the somber moment.

"Oh, Sapphire." The floating garden gnome chided as it flew in orbit around her. "You've ruined my record for flawless entrances. I was up to seven. Now I'm going to have to figure out a better one. Hmm, maybe I should add a mask to my getup." The gnome, Raoul, said.

Sapphire met Kris's cheerful eyes and laughed. "Isis is calling you home?" She asked him.

Kris shook his head. "No, I asked if we could borrow some of the gnomes for a time while we get the bar's front closed up and set up a security system."

Sapphire smiled as she pat Raoul's ceramic hat. "Well, I'm certainly happy you decided to join us, Raoul." She said.

Raoul sighed. "I didn't "join you"; rather, I am babysitting you as per Isis's wishes. Silly mortals." Raoul said, landing on Sapphire's head.

The two humans exchanged amused looks before Sapphire gently took Raoul down.

"All right, Raoul. Make sure this place stays locked up tight then," Kris said as they gathered their things.

"Tsch, how could I? There's only a sheet of plastic over the door. We'll be chasing bats out all night." Raoul said condescendingly.

"Then I'm sure you'll be great at that," Sapphire said as she left the bar.

The two friends walked out to the ancient truck that had belonged to Kris's grandfather and tossed their things in the back before climbing in, a sigh escaping Sapphire as she pulled her seatbelt on.

"What's wrong?" Kris asked her as he started the truck.

"That headache of mine is back again." She groaned, rubbing her forehead as Kris could hear a fight between the guard gnomes start. There'd be laser damage in the morning to deal with, but he had a feeling the gnomes would deal with the worst of it.

Kris raised his eyebrow at her comment, but chose to say nothing as he backed down the alleyway that would serve as the driveway leading to the back of the bar.

"What?" Sapphire asked him.

"I didn't say anything." Kris defended himself with, though they were both sure they knew what the other one was thinking.

"You were thinking about my headaches." Sapphire said, crossing her arms over her chest. She then sighed. "And that I need to see a doctor," she said, turning away from him.

Kris shook his head as he turned down a street. "That's not what I-"

"Kris," Sapphire cut him off. "Just tell me the truth for a change."

The two sat in silence for several minutes before he finally responded. "Okay, Sapphire. You were right; I do want you to see a doctor." He said with a sigh.

Sapphire was quiet, a stiff, still quiet.

Kris sighed. "Just think about it, please. We all can see you're in pain; even complete strangers. Even lie to me about going; just tell me you'll consider it."

She was still quiet, causing him to sigh.

"Okay," she said, startling him. "I'll contact some people- again. Maybe it's a family thing, something from my long-lost mother's side." She said with another sigh.

Kris nodded, making a turn onto the block where he lived. "Okay. Thank you." He told her.

"Mm, don't thank me yet." Sapphire said cryptically, but when she chose not to elaborate, he didn't ask.

There were some secrets even he didn't want to know.

And no, that last email never went through.

* * *

"It's her," Genesis said as he removed his coat, tossing it onto a hook on the wall as his employer's minions finished installing a large computer in a corner of his apartment.

He wasn't sure why he would need a computer like that, but he wasn't about to whine to his employer about it. There were some nice bonuses about his job, and that was one of them.

His employer, Jonas Teere, sat on a barstool in the breakfast nook and chuckled. "Well good. What do you want me to do about it?"

Genesis gave him a wry look as he reached his fridge. "Give me a hint as to how to handle her. I can't go in there unprepared, expecting the woman to trust me. I need to know who she is; what's her training?" He asked as he leaned into the fridge, grabbed a long-neck beer, and straightened.

The cap went soaring into the sink as he swigged from the bottle, Jonas scowling at him, but waiting. When Genesis was done drinking, he quirked his eyebrow at his Jonas's impatient look.

"Well?"

Jonas sighed and removed a flash drive from his suit coat. "All you need to know," he said as he put the flash drive on the countertop, "is on this drive."

Genesis raised one eyebrow, but took the drive anyway and shoved it in a pocket of his jeans. "That's it? No, "good luck; no one's defeated her"?"

Jonas snorted as he stood from the stool. "Why would you need luck? Right now all you've got to do is avoid waking the beast and you're golden."

Genesis blinked as Jonas stalked to the door of the apartment, his minions stalking after him. "Wait, what beast? I thought she was just a woman, not a werewolf!" He shouted after Jonas, knowing from previous encounters with Jonas that following him would cause bodily harm.

A laugh started his answer. "Just don't, okay?"

Genesis cleared his throat, suddenly a little nervous what he might be facing. "Got it," he said as the door was slammed shut.

Running a hand through his hair, he removed the flash drive from his pocket and looked down at it. "So, you hold some of the answers to my questions about Miss Darkner, then." He said, curious as to what Jonas would not tell him.

_I just hope she's not some demon sent to take over the world. That would not be an easy job._ Genesis thought with a sigh as he transferred the flash drive to his gloved fingers and studied it some more.

Sighing, he turned to the newly-installed computer and smiled. "Well, there are some perks to having an obnoxious employer." He said.

He finished his beer in one long swig, tossing it over his shoulder and into the bin for recycling where it shattered, as he crossed the room to the computer.

Though surprised that it was on and ready, Genesis suspected that he was going to include the computer as part of his contract when he renegotiated with Jonas later in the month.

After thirty minutes of reading over the data, though, he realized, though, that there was a slight problem with the job.

Especially when he encountered a much, much older picture of the woman.

She look nothing like the young, pale woman in the bar earlier. With snake bite pierces, a tattoo, and a tan that was natural, the woman in the picture was obviously a soldier of sorts, not a bartender.

"Well, color me stunned," he muttered, stroking his chin as he read the caption that accompanied the picture.

_Subject: Rouge. Location: The Tale-Ikia Desert. Subject proved our theory involving the Lifestream. Will conduct further tests at a later date. _

One look at the devilish gleam in the woman's eye, and he knew.

"Great," Genesis said with a sigh, leaning back in his chair as he propped his booted feet up on his desk. "I am following a legend."

* * *

"Sir! We've got a sighting of the woman." Reno announced, bursting into Rufus' office as Rude followed behind him, red-faced from embarrassment.

Rufus slowly looked up from the book he was reading, both curious and annoyed. "Go on," he said.

Reno and Rude looked at each before Reno stepped further into the dimly-lit room. "She was spotted in Wutai recently, near a building under construction." He informed his boss, suddenly feeling a little nervous. He rubbed the back of his neck when he realized that he had rudely barged into Rufus' office without knocking.

Rufus nodded slowly. "Do you have a name for this woman yet?" He asked, his hope rising just a smidgen.

Reno shook his head as Rude touched his earpiece. "Sir, we've got confirmation on her identity... And it's not what we expected." He informed them as more information came through.

Rufus, though, was confused, along with Reno.

"What?" Reno spoke for them.

Rude sighed. "The identity attached to her belongs to a woman who disappeared 300 years ago. She's a con-artist, Sir."

Rufus raised one eyebrow. "Really? What's her name?" He asked.

Rude looked at Reno and then crossed the room, leaning down to whisper the name to Rufus.

"Interesting." Rufus said as Rude stepped back. He tapped his index fingers against his lips for several minutes, considering his options, as Reno talked at Rude, the other man just grunting.

"Reno," Rufus finally said, dragging the redhead's attention back with much force, "I need you to make a call..."

* * *

_o.O We're just heading straight into a big adventure storm here, aren't we? XD_

_Review, add to favorites or alerts, tell you e-friends... ^_^ Or just continue reading the story as I post new chapters. Thanks for reading this chapter! :)_


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